Solano County Chabad creating slew of county Jewish firsts in Vacaville

Rabbi Chaim Zaklos of the Chabad of Solano discusses the ongoing renovation of the new Center for Jewish Life in Vacaville. In addition to the sanctuary, which is nearly complete, the 8,225 square-foot building will house a lounge, youth room, social hall, kosher kitchen and a mikvah. Zaklos hopes that construction will be completed in time for the Jewish High Holy Days this fall.
Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter

The ark which holds the Torah’s was handmade on a kibbutz, a large communal settlement found around Israel traditional based around agriculture, and then shipped to the center and installed in the sanctuary.
Joel Rosenbaum — The Reporter

Rabbi Chaim Zaklos and his wife, Aidel, are working on creating a “one-stop-Jewish-life” center in Vacaville. Nearly everything taking shape there is a first, at least for the city, and in many cases, for Solano County as well.

The couple, transplants from back east in their mid-30s, have six children ranging in age from 8 years to 4 months.

“The vision is a center for Jewish life; a unique location where you have all your Jewish needs under one roof — religious, social, the holidays and observances and life-cycle events,” Rabbi Zaklos said. “Kind of a Jewish community center, with a religious aspect. We want it to be welcoming and we want people to feel at home.”

The facility, a 8,225 square-foot compound located at 730 E. Main St., is more than just a building. It was bought in December of 2014 and has been in the planning stages since then, Zaklos said.

“We had to raise funds and plan what would be the best way to utilize the space,” he said.

There have been four intense fund-raising campaigns over the past four years — one that raised $200,000 for the down payment on the building; one for $100,000 that funded the sanctuary; a third that brought in the $234,000 needed to build the mikvah, or ritual bath, and the social hall and a fourth that raised another $200,000 to build most of the rest of the site.

Aside from the sanctuary, which is basically complete, most of the rest of the Chabad Center for Jewish Life is under construction. They’re building a lounge, a youth room for religious studies and after school programs, a library and a social hall for holiday and other events like community seders, bar mitzvahs and weddings. A full public kosher kitchen is also under construction, along with the mikvah — both firsts for Solano County.

“There are eight other (mikvahs) in all of Northern California, the closest being in Sacramento, Berkeley and Oakland,” Zaklos said. A visit to a mikvah is required under certain cercumstances for observant Jews.

The ritual bath must meet certain biblical requirements that govern the how and from what materials it’s built, where the water comes from and how the pool is filled, which is by rainwater collected in a proscribed way, and delivered to the bath in a specified manner, he said.

Various parts of the Chabad center project are named in honor of the donors who made them possible, like the The Erik Alexander Fuchs Youth Room, named for local Realtor Bonnie Falk’s son, who died 13 years ago at the age of 22.

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“It’s an amazing place,” Falk said of the Chabad center. “As a Jewish person living in Solano County since 1981 — when I first came here, someone asked me what a Jew was. I’m a reform (less strictly observant) Jew, but Zaklos and Chabad is welcoming to all Jews. The Zakloses are young, and what they’ve done to bring in the assimilated Jews is amazing. This is going to bring so many Jews to Solano County, it’s unbelievable.”

The Chabad center is welcoming also to non-Jews, she said.

“I grew up mostly around gentiles, so this is a huge, cultural event,” Falk said of the center. “We have non-Jews who come to our events. We have interesting speakers and other events that are educational and supportive to anyone, not just Jews. It’s real and down to earth. That’s why so many people feel comfortable coming. It’s so good for the Vacaville community. My son would be thrilled. It’s so different than anything I’ve ever experienced. You can learn so much, and it brings us together, and doesn’t separate us. Being involved with Chabad changed my life.”

Being a Jewish institution, Chabad received a federal grant to beef up security, much of which is evident on the building’s exterior, where also is found a layer of Jerusalem stone, which is also prominent in the Judy Stein Sanctuary, inside.

Artistic wall mountings and murals depict ancient Israel and the fruits with which that area is blessed, like pomegranates, figs, olives and dates. The sanctuary furniture was built at and shipped from an Israeli kibbutz (or collective community) that specializes in it.

Above the special area that contains the Torah scroll, is a carving depicting Jerusalem’s Western Wall as it appears today, while the cloth that covers the scroll is embroidered with a sparkling depiction of what the Third Temple of the Messianic age is expected to look like.

It also includes the words, “every Jew is family.”

“This is our credo,” Zaklos said.

Even the Torah scroll itself is a first for the county, in that it was initiated by the Harris family of Benicia, and made by hand especially for Solano Chabad by an Israeli scribe.

Zaklos said the community hopes to one day create an outdoor area behind the center, a kosher market, and maybe even a kosher restaurant or deli, which is why there “are still dedication and center upkeep opportunities” to be had.

It is hoped that the main elements of the project will be finished and usable by September/October, in time for the High Holidays, Zaklos said.

“Every day, stuff is getting done,” he said. “It’s a humbling experience to be putting together something that will bring the community together in such a special way; to become a place where people can find their Jewish passion and to become a beacon of Jewish light.”